Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Dave and I subscribe to Gerald Celente’s Trends Journal. You should too. Hard to read, but well prepared. Think for yourself, do it yourself, know ourself. Good stuff. Below is the latest “alert” about the coming year. The next journal comes in January. To subscribe you can go to http://www.trendsresearch.com/index.php
I share this because we care, and you need to know. I love the affordable sophistication….
Click here to read more at create meditate : http://tinyurl.com/crowwoh

Monday, December 12, 2011

Eclipses are turning points; we come to a fork in the road, a veil parts, and suddenly we have an opportunity to take a different route, make a new choice, or see things from a fresh perspective.
Read full post at create meditate: here's the link: http://tinyurl.com/7lravks

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Here is a neat article about the use of Meditation (that I teach) at SVA that was posted on Photo Shelter.com – one of my favorite photo blogs and resources:
What Photographers Can Learn From Hypnosis
http://createmeditate.wordpress.com/2011/12/07/meditation-class-for-artists-photoshelter-com/

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

An SVA alumna, who is a current Masters student at NYU, Yennypher Fernandez is looking for help on her thesis, and needs an illustrator. If you are interested, below is her email.
Happy thanksgiving to all,
Rhonda
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Hi Everybody,
This is Yennypher (Praxis Fernandez). I am looking for an Illustrator/Matte Painter to help me with my thesis project. Please share this message with your friends, colleagues, etc. I really appreciate your help.
-Yennypher.
NYU Graduate Thesis Student SEEKS: ILLUSTRATOR / MATTE PAINTER.
I am looking for an Illustrator to work with for my thesis film,
“Butterflies in my Belly: An Expressionist Fairytale”.
I need Photo-real 2K Matte Paintings. * References attached to this message.
The first three illustrations compose an interior shot of a narrow, dark room in the style of the German Expressionist films of the 1920-30's. B&W
* Expressionism seeks to reduce objects and spaces to their bare minimum through jarring composition, distorted lines and a sense of claustrophobia. Expressionist artists sought to express meaning or emotional experience rather than physical reality. The term is sometimes suggestive of emotional angst.
- From Wikipedia.
4th Painting is completely different and much more detailed: a subversive, bizarre children's paradise, an enchanted forest filled with bright, vivid colors; referencing the lowbrow, pop surrealism movement, Alice in Wonderland, fairytales and the photographs of Tim Walker.
Your creative input will be encouraged and valued. This is a collaborative project, and a great opportunity to build a diverse portfolio. No pay but a small compensation will be provided. If interested, please contact me, Jennypher A. Fernandez at : jaf506@nyu.edu
Subject: Illustrator/Matte Painter.
--
- Praxis Fernandez
* "It is not by spectacular achievement that man can be transformed, but by will".
- Henrik Ibsen.
* "Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself."
- Charlie Chaplin.

Friday, November 11, 2011

The art of awakening the healer within you is through attention and widening your ability to let go of what is not needed. In many ways, it is attention and imagination that can lead the mind to understand mysteries that may not seem rational at first. Can you visualize what you want as clear, clean and whole? Write it down first. Then draw it. Close your eyes and feel it, run your fingers across the words and allow images to form. Breathe.
Then let the picture in your mind become the problem, and see it, feel it as whole, solved, clear, clean. Perhaps your attention, first, must be drawn to what is not whole, solved, clear or clean. Accept what you see. No denial, no repression. Observe. Witness and participant both.
Then image it the way you want it to be, whole vibrant and full of life. That is the meditation. That is where attention is invested in the re-directing of the mind in concert with the fields of possibilities. Life is vast.
The trick is to let go of the details. Let the concept, the big picture be what it is to be. You can not control the world, but you can control your responses to it. You can create the image, or intuit the image. Either way, see it, sense it, be it and allow what is to be whole, to be clear. The calm that follows makes the changes vibrant.
In job search, in healing a broken heart, in creating an amazing art work. Write it down. How does it feel? Run your fingers across the words. Let the images forms. Be the process, be the product, be the creator of both. Align inside and out.
See the reality, and flow. Let the reality - flow.
Healing starts, with attention.
Posted to http://createmeditate.wordpress.com - join me at the new site.

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

I have moved my blog to wordpress - so much easier to post and navigate.
If you would like to continue to subscribe, when you have a moment go to the new site and click follow.
Here is the link: https://createmeditate.wordpress.com/
All the best,
Rhonda

Monday, November 7, 2011

Uranus goes direct on December 10th. I am ready, perhaps. I know the energy in the ethers is asking "who are you really?". I keep asking myself that very question. Preparing to live even more truth as it presents itself. I am. I read Nisargadatta to help me stay in "I am". Not climbing ladders, not dreaming of much more than the richness of the expansion of the moment. Helping my community, helping stay in calm and balance as we think for ourselves, and teach those who can hear - to open to beauty and open to change as everything shifts to black.
Being myself. Who am I really? I spend a great deal of time writing this new book, outlining tools and meditations for artists to heal, to find their calling, to build a pathway to their own authenticity through the natural creative impulse that is their inner being. It is good. Who am I really? Uranus goes direct in a little more than a month. We have a few months before the first square to Pluto. I hope to willingly let go of what is not authentic, so the rug stays under my feet.
Such a human response. It will be what it is. That is for sure. Who am I really? Perhaps a soul who does not need a rug under her feet? We shall see. We all shall see. Uranus goes direct in December. Perhaps the image will be of a flying saucer, or a helium balloon, or definitions of success that have worn out their welcome. I like that one. I want to be myself. I want to meditate and visualize and help awaken the creative healer in all I meet. Is that who I am really? Down deep I am Venus swimming amongst the shadows always discerning the light as a path through the depths. For what purpose? To be. To share. I am.
I have decided to take on private meditation clients again - and teach groups at home how to create and meditate. It is good. Uranus goes direct and is planting early seeds.

Friday, October 28, 2011

A good artist friend Carol Hamoy sent the below notice to me - wanted to share it with you. Sounds like a great show, and they are looking for great work.
Contact Nancy Mantell at the Museum if you are interested in submitting.
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Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion Museum
Brookdale Center, 1 West 4th Street NYC 10012
Phone: 212 824 2218
E-mail: museumnyc@huc.edu
Contact: Nancy Mantell for more info
October 25, 2011
Dear Artist
As you know, Hebrew Union College Museum has been successful in exploring controversial topics through the work of exceptional Jewish artists. We plan to present a major exhibition beginning in September 2012, addressing the conflict-ridden subject of Jewish attitudes to gender issues.
We are inclosing a list of potential subjects to help you visualize these themes. Without a doubt you will have your own ideas and suggest issues that have not been included on our provisional list.
Please let us know what you have available that might be appropriate for this exhibit, or that you think you might produce for it. We are interested in all media, including—but not limited to--paintings, sculpture, textiles, objects, artists books, videos, photography, and cartoons. One caveat, we cannot exhibit work that shows frontal nudity.
We would like to begin to review work immediately, so we look forward to hearing from you soon. If you have come across work by other artists that you think we should consider, we would much appreciate it if you would share it with us.
Best
Laura Kruger
Curator
Phyllis Freedman
Nancy Mantell
Susan Orr
Curatorial Assistants
Phone: 212 824 2218
E-mail: museumnyc@huc.edu
Jew and Gender: What is Changed?
(A Working Title)
Possible Subjects
Circumcision, Ritual objects: Tzitzit, tefillin, tallit, Prayer/Inclusion and exclusion in congregations, Marriage/Divorce/Family, Polygamy, Forbidden sex: incest/adultery/sodomy/bestiality, Seduction/Rape, Clothing: cross-dressing/sheitel/tzitzit/tallit, Redemption of the first born (male) What about females? Impurities: after childbirth/menses/mikvah, Masturbation: what about IVF/before radiation treatment/selling sperm, Homosexuality: Holocaust

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

As most of you can tell now, what I've been talking about for the last 2 - 3 years is starting to take root. The world is changing. Are you ready? Are you prepared?

What does prepared mean for you. Do you have community, people who watch your back? People who love and inspire you, support you? Will feed you and clothe you if necessary. If not, get to it.
You will need them, and they will need you. Are your ready to help your neighbors, share food, share water, share hope? If not, get ready. The world will become a small world, and you will feel better and survive with a richer heart - if you have meaning, and purpose, and support.

This is NOT a time to be thinking - "what about me" . This is a time to be thinking " how can I serve".

So as artists, how do we serve? How do we provide the authentic vision that is ours alone , the unique talents we karmically came here to share? How do we make beauty, add to the vibration of soulful elegance and stay in the world, real and helpful? It is up to each one of us to find our way through the career maze and the prosperity game. Define it for yourself, envision it for yourself, create it, move towards it, and allow it to manifest. DIY is the game plan.

Remember, that the world is changing. You will need courage, genius and the power to define your own destiny. And all is well. Together, all is well. It is always right, just the way it is. Your job is to find the calm center within you, to see the nimble fluid choices as they appear in the mist. And be willing to redefine prosperity, redefine meaning and purpose. And redefine relationships and community. And then, all is well. Simple and complex.

Friday, September 16, 2011

Pluto goes direct today, in the early degrees of Capricorn. Marching towards its first square to Uranus in the spring. Uranus goes direct in December in the early degrees of Aries. Volatile times ahead. For me, 6th house contacts the mid-heaven.

The energy that propels destiny and laughs at us at the same time, asking are you living your truth, working your truth, serving the truth? How do we leap beyond our own vanity and allow the spaciousness for this fierce healer within to move us without killing us?

I went back to one of my favorite books by one of my favorite teachers/astrologers, Steven Forrest whom I've studied with over the years. His book "Inner Sky" an old favorite. Steven says this about Pluto:
The realization of one’s destiny.
The recognition of the absurdity of all narrow pursuits.
The development of the capacity to discern truth.

Key questions to ask yourself:
Where can I find enduring significance in my life?
Where in myself might I find wisdom for which there is a great need in the world around me?
Where must I guard against dogmatic unscrupulous or tyrannical behavior?

We must identify with something larger, more timeless. Pluto is the planet of vast dreams, of visions, of conquest and transformation. By voicing a cry that already exists in the soul of the people.

Pluto is a taproot penetrating the heart of a nation...As artists it strikes me that
through our work, we EMBODY the visions and terrors of humanity. through our work we represent them. Our images serve as LIVING SYMBOLS of a some communal need or fear.

Through making art our lives are given TRANSPERSONAL meaning. We do not lose individuality, but we take on a second level of identity.

I cannot tell you how much I loved re-reading the above passages (you should buy The Inner Sky, book by Steven Forrest)

It is not about the personal self, our individual missions are not personal glory bound, if we take the high road it is about transcendence. No vanity. When you become your mission, when you become your images, your artwork, your dreams - the little you becomes irrelevant. It is the road to the big YOU. You might ask - who is that? That is everyone. That is the I AM self.

Ah.... that – to embody an ideal where the personal self falls away. It’s a paradox surely. A mission for relevance that strikes at the very core of your being with the end route being the journey. There is the true meaning, the real healing. Not ego inflation. To embody the core, through the journey of the dark night of the soul. To heal the personality by transcending it.

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

LMCC offers two grants for projects that bring the arts to communities in Manhattan, from Washington Heights to the Battery, The Fund for Creative Communities (The Fund) and Manhattan Community Arts Fund (MCAF).

The grants are available for artists, organizations, and arts groups of all disciplines.
Application Deadline: Tuesday, September 13, 5PM
Application Forms Now Online:

LMCC is pleased to announce that application forms can now be completed and submitted online. Certain required documents will also need to be mailed or delivered to LMCC in hard copy before the deadline.

For more information, access the 2012 guidelines and applications here: The Fund / and MCAF

Attend an Information Session:

Information sessions are offered each summer in 12 locations across Manhattan for artists interested in applying to our grant programs. Sessions include a review of the programs and useful information to help applicants put their best foot forward.
If you are a first-time applicant or haven't attended a session since 2008, you must attend one this year to apply.

Tuesday, August 30, 6:30PM
LMCC
125 Maiden Lane, 2nd Floor, between Water & Pearl Streets
Capacity for the final session on August 30 is limited. We encourage you to sign-up for an earlier sessions to ensure that we can accomodate you!

Saturday, July 30, 2011

Just received the newest newsletter from CaFE - see below for deadlines and calls for entries.

Good luck!

-------------------
Dear CaFE™ Artist,

New opportunities are listed on CaFE™, and many application deadlines are approaching. See what new opportunities you can apply to below. You can login to CaFE here or go to www.callforentry.org to apply to one of these opportunities. Please read the call information carefully as each call has specific guidelines and eligibility requirements.

BACKGROUND: The Metal Arts Guild (MAG) of San Francisco together with Monday Spaces are proud to present CONSPICUOUS, an intimate exhibition that speaks to jewelry and how we can put it on view in our personal settings. CONSPICUOUS is a collaborative exhibition with Anzfer Farms who will respond to the featured jewelry by creating interactive, custom displays for showcasing the work in a personal setting. Our interests are in exploring these objects as a visual experience, and the role played when they are taken out of a functional context. Jurors Sienna Patti of Sienna Gallery, and Jonathan Anzalone & Joseph Ferriso of Anzfer Farms will select work from a national call for artists on callforentry.org. The exhibition will run November 10-21, 2011, and is concurrent with MAG’s 60th Anniversary Symposium, Forging Communities. Visit: www.metalartsguildsf.org for more information on the symposium. Open to artists within the United States who make jewelry. There is a $25 applic! ation fee. Deadline is July 31. Call is open to the first 150 applicants only.

The Betty Bowen Award is open to all visual artists working in Washington, Oregon, or Idaho. This year one artist will be awarded a cash prize up to $15,000 and an opportunity to display their work at the Seattle Art Museum. Also,two Special Recognition Awards in the amount of $2,500 are often granted at the discretion of the committee. The application will close at 11:00 PM Pacific Standard Time on August 1, 2011. Betty Bowen (1918–1977) was a Washington native and enthusiastic supporter of Northwest artists whose friends established the annual Betty Bowen Award as a celebration of her life and to honor and continue her efforts to provide financial support to the artists of the region. Since 1977, the Seattle Art Museum has hosted the yearly grant application process by which the selection committee chooses one artist from the Northwest to receive an unrestricted cash award, eligible to visual artists working in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho.

VISIONS OF THE FLINT HILLS BENEFIT AND SALE is a juried exhibit featuring art of the Flint Hills. The exhibit will run from October 7, 2011 thru November 25, 2011, in the Buttonwood Art Space, 3013 Main Street, Kansas City, Missouri. Partial proceeds from the event benefit a non-profit organization which promotes the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve and the Flint Hills of Kansas. Open to paintings, photographs and 3-D works influenced by or depicting the Flint Hills geographic area in Kansas. Artists may submit up to four pieces for a $10 fee. Juror: Gallery Director, Jamie Lavin. All artwork will be juried on a piece by piece basis. All works will be 50% of sale to artist and 50% to Flint Hills charity.

The Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the Seattle Department of Transportation, seeks an artist or artist team to create a permanent, multi-site outdoor artwork at select locations along the Burke-Gilman Trail. The budget for this project is $80,000, all-inclusive. The call is open to artists residing in Washington. The deadline is 11 pm (PDT), Monday, Aug. 1, 2011.

California Artists Only. The City of San Jose’s Public Art Program and the Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services Department are seeking an artist to create public art for the LCRSP. LCRSP is the largest skate park in California. California artists (only) are asked to submit qualifications for the design, fabrication and installation of a public art project for this facility. The selected artist will be asked to convey the energy and community of the LCRSP in the work, so demonstrated experience designing artwork for skate/BMX/surf culture will be highly valued for applicants.

En Foco's New Works #15 is open to U.S. based fine art and documentary photographers of Latino, African and Asian heritage, and Native Peoples of the Americas and Pacific. All photo-based works are eligible; winners receive $1,000 and honorable mentions $100 honoraria. All receive photo-products; a photographer's page on enfoco.org; a Professional Photographer's membership ($100 value); an article in Nueva Luz; and a group exhibition in New York City (2012).

In keeping with the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) guidelines to incorporate art into mass transit projects, the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART) is soliciting qualifications from professional artists in consideration of the commissioning of artwork for two new stations: the new Oakland Coliseum Connector Station and the new Oakland Airport BART Station. The aesthetic and practical goals of the OAC project are to: • Provide a strong visual identity for each station through the inclusion of bold, sophisticated artwork. • Create artistic wayfinding elements, bringing riders through the open volumes of space and providing visual points of reference. • Provide a psychological connection between the two stations. • Attract new riders by creating more personalized and welcoming stations.

Call to Oregon Artists Portland2012 Biennial of Contemporary Art Portland2012 is a major survey of work by visual artists who are defining and advancing the contemporary arts landscape of the state. The exhibition will be curated by Prudence F. Roberts, and presented March 9 through April 28, 2012.

The Edgar Allan Poe Foundation of Boston, Inc. (the Foundation), in coordination with the Boston Art Commission, seeks qualifications from artists, artisans and/or designers to develop public artwork(s) celebrating Poe and his creative work. The site is the Edgar Allan Poe Square, located in Boston, MA at the southeast corner of Boylston Street and Charles Street South and is a roughly triangular brick paved plaza of 1,700 square feet. Poe was a master craftsman, a versatile writer, and is considered America’s first great literary critic. Additional information on the site, and on Poe, his achievements, and his ties to Boston, can be found on the Foundation's website www.poeboston.org

MOveMENT is a juried exhibition of 3D works by California metal and jewelry artists, selected by Julie Muniz (Curator of Decorative Arts, the Oakland Museum of California) and Harriete Estel Berman (professional studio artist, founder of the Professional Guidelines). It will showcase the convergence of metal arts (sculpture and jewelry) with these various movements and how the Bay Area is the fulcrum at which they intersect. The exhibition will coincide with a one-day Symposium, Forging Communities, organized by MAG to be held at the Oakland Museum of CA on November 12, 2011. Go to www.metalartsguild.org for more information on the symposium. Call is limited to 150 applicants. There is a $25 application fee. Deadline: July 31 (11:59 pm MST)

Sound Transit, Seattle: North Link light rail Lead Artist Commissions (2) Two lead artists are sought to join the design team for Sound Transit’s Brooklyn and Roosevelt stations, two underground stops along the north line of the Link light rail system. The selected artists will create a permanent artwork for each respective station, aid in identifying art opportunities for additional artists, and contribute thinking to the overall final design process, currently between 30 and 60%. The design phase of both projects will continue into early 2013, followed by tunnel and facility construction. It is anticipated that both stations will open for service in 2020/2021. The surrounding urban and residential centers are expected to provide high ridership for Sound Transit’s growing light rail system. The civic presence of the underground station will contrast the neighborhood’s vibrant pedestrian streetscape. The lead artist budget is for each project is $360,000. The budget is! inclusive of design work, team participation, travel, artist fees and fabrication and installation of a permanent integrated artwork.

Public Art Cherry Creek (PACC) The Cherry Creek Arts Festival Organization’s 501c3 non-profit mission is to provide access to art experiences and support art education. The home of the Arts Festival for the past twenty-one years has been the Cherry Creek North District, Denver’s most vibrant outdoor shopping district, has just finished its multi-million dollar renovation. Within this project the district created 20 new art and garden spaces with benches, tables and chairs, elegant lighting and creative landscaping. The Arts Festival is pleased to provide the first in the next generation of public artwork to the district known as the Public Art in Cherry Creek Program or PACC. This is an open competition for professional artists residing in the state of Colorado in the United States.

The City of El Paso’s Museums and Cultural Affairs Department invites eligible artists to apply for consideration to create temporary works of art using chalk on the city sidewalks of downtown El Paso as part of the fourth annual Chalk the Block Public Art Festival! Participation is open to all artists, who reside in El Paso, Las Cruces, or Ciudad Juarez (must have legal documentation to work in the U.S.). Applications must be submitted using the Call for Entry (CAFE) free online application system by August 25th 2011.

City of Seattle: Power and Sustainability Artist-in-Residence
VIEW MORE INFO
Entry Deadline: 8/29/11

The Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs, in partnership with Seattle City Light, the city’s power utility, will commission one artist to be an artist-in-residence. The artist will study the utility’s energy conservation programs and develop a series of projects to bring awareness to conservation in innovative ways. The artist will also implement a project illuminating City Light’s conservation and sustainability efforts at Seattle Center’s Next Fifty anniversary celebration in 2012. The artist will also develop the project ideas related to other energy conservation initiatives for his or her execution, as well as by other artists. The call is open to all artists residing in the United States.

The Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs will establish a roster of approximately 50-75 artists pre-qualified for future art projects at city utility facilities, in the parks, in the street right-of-way and other locations. The roster will be one of the means of selecting artists to develop permanent, free-standing or site-integrated artwork projects in a variety of sizes and complexities, with budgets ranging from $30,000 to $150,000. This call is open to professional artists residing in the United States. To be eligible to apply, applicants must have successfully completed a minimum of two permanent or temporary, site-specific commissions.

Alaska State Council on the Arts: The Connie Boochever Artist Fellowship
VIEW MORE INFO
Entry Deadline: 9/1/11

The purpose of the Connie Boochever Artist Fellowship is to recognize and assist EMERGING ALASKA ARTISTS of exceptional talent. Fellowships are granted through the Connie Boochever Endowment, through the Alaska Arts and Culture Foundation. The program is administered by the Alaska State Council on the Arts. 2011 CATEGORIES: Visual Arts, including Film, Digital & Media Arts. ALASKA ARTISTS ONLY.

Artspace is a non-profit visual art center dedicated to presenting quality exhibitions and educational programs within an open-studio environment. We have been recognized for presenting award-winning exhibitions in three exhibition galleries that feature regional, national, and international artists.

Artspace Artists Association (AAA) is an organization of artists working together in Raleigh, NC to promote growth of the individual artist, to provide an environment of interaction with other artists and with the public, and to foster the mission of Artspace. Professional artists interested in becoming a member of the Artspace Artists Association must be juried in through a two-stage jury process. The first phase of the jurying takes place through www.callforentry.org. Artists who pass the first phase of the jury must be able to bring their work to Artspace in Raleigh, NC for the second phase of jurying.

City and County of Broomfield: Art for Awhile Sculpture on Loan Program
VIEW MORE INFO
Entry Deadline: 9/6/11

2012 Art for Awhile Art on Loan Sculpture Program Sponsored by the City and County of Broomfield, CO and the Broomfield Public Art Committee Art for Awhile is an exciting art on loan program created by the Broomfield Public Art Committee (PAC). Participating artists are chosen by the PAC to display their art and offer it for sale for one year. The program affords the artist increased public exposure and the opportunity to sell their work. •$1,000 Award - A $1,000 cash award will be given to the artist whose sculpture is deemed “Best of Broomfield” at Broomfield Days 2012. •Nine Works of Art - A total of nine outdoor sculptures will be selected September 16, 2011. •Three Locations - Three pieces of art to be selected for each of three landmark locations within the City and County of Broomfield.

In celebration of its 10th anniversary, The Sprout Fund seeks to commission an artist or artist team to create a signature work of permanent public art on façade of a building in a prominent Downtown Pittsburgh location. Artists must be a current or former Pittsburgh area residents or able to demonstrate a relationship with the city. Work in a variety of media and forms will be considered. 3-5 artists or artist-led teams will be invited to submit design proposals. Request for Qualifications Application Deadline: September 12, 2011 Project Budget: $100,000

Honoring the man who opened up the jewelry industry to designers, this contest offers an opportunity to study with a world-class jewelry artist. The winner receives an all-expenses-paid scholarship from anywhere in the US to San Francisco (air, lodging, tuition and fees) for a master class of their choice during the Academy's annual 3-week long International Masters Symposium in April 2012. During the Masters Symposium, prominent jewelry artists, designers, craftsmen and experts from all over the world converge on San Francisco to teach professional skills and techniques in the area of their greatest expertise.

The New Student Scholarship was established to provide an opportunity for new students to attend the Academy. The winner receives an all-expenses-paid scholarship from anywhere in the US to San Francisco, including air, lodging, tuition and fees for any regular 3-day class.

WAOW, Inc.: 2011 Application for membership in Women Artists of the West
VIEW MORE INFO
Fee: $35.00 (WAOW, Inc.: 2011 Application for membership in Women Artists of the West )
Entry Deadline: 9/30/11

Application for membership in Women Artists of the West (WAOW, Inc.), an organization of women artists with members across the US and Canada. “Membership includes a page on WAOW’s web page with links to your private e-mail and web site. We have at least one juried show per year for our members and try for one other. We have an extensive communications program for our members.”

The Denali Artist-in-Residence program is now accepting applications for residencies through the summer of 2012. Details about the program history, answers to commonly asked questions, as well as information about previous Denali artists-in-residence can be found online at http://www.nps.gov/dena/historyculture/arts-program.htm All submissions for the summer 2012 program must be completed no later than 10 p.m. AKST/ 12 a.m. MST on September 30, 2011. (Entry system servers are based in Colorado, USA.)

The purpose of the Art Jewelry Forum's (AJF) Emerging Artist Award (EAA) is to acknowledge promise, innovation, and individuality in the work of emerging jewelry artists and to advance the career of a promising artist . The award consists of an unrestricted cash award of $5,000. The award presentation will be held in 2012 at SOFA (Sculptural Ojects and Functional Art) New York or Collect. Additional informaton about the Art Jewelry Forum and this award may be found on the AJF website: www.artjewelryforum.org.

Scholarship for Beaders
VIEW MORE INFO
Entry Deadline: 10/15/11

The Revere Academy’s Scholarship for Beaders was founded to provide an opportunity for new students, working with beads in their jewelry, to attend the Academy. Scholarship includes tuition for any regular 3-day class, $50 administration fee, up to $100 in kit fees, plus transportation and lodging in San Francisco. Eligibility: Must be a new student to the Revere Academy, currently making jewelry using beads, and reside in the U.S.A. Eligibility: Must be a new student to Revere Academy, be currently making jewelry using beads, and reside in the U.S.A. Deadline: October 15, 2011 11:59pm (MST)

A juried cup exhibition embraces a wide spectrum of ceramics cup forms both sculptural and utilitarian. The exhibition opens to all clay artists reside and work in the United States. The Juror of the exhibition is Susan Beiner. Cash Awards up to $500.

Au Naturel: the Nude in the 21st Century 2012
VIEW MORE INFO
Fee: $35.00 (Au Naturel: the Nude in the 21st Century 2012)
Entry Deadline: 11/7/11

Au Naturel: The Nude in the 21st Century is an international juried competition hosted annually by the Art Center of Clatsop Community College in Astoria, Oregon, with a focus on the time-honored tradition of the nude human figure, an art form that continues to inspire and challenge many artists today as one of the most potentially rewarding subjects to explore. This exhibit represents a wide range of interpretations of the human figure from representational to abstract, and is open to all artists from around the world working in any drawing, painting, and printmaking media in which the handmade mark is employed as the primary means of image-making.

A Regional Juried Ceramics Exhibition open to all artist working in: IL, MN, WI, OH, MI, KT, TN, AK, IA, and MO. All work must be no larger than 12" X 12" X 12", and use 75% of clay as the primary medium.

Blue Sky established the Pacific Northwest Photography Viewing Drawers program in 2007 to feature a juried public archive of original prints by contemporary photographers based in the region. Visitors to Blue Sky’s galleries in Portland are welcome to enjoy work in the Drawers by simply opening any one of the archival flatfiles, or by asking the Gallery Attendant for assistance. The Drawers program has quickly become a favorite aspect of Blue Sky’s ongoing programming, available to approximately 25,000 visitors annually. For 2012—to coincide with the newly inaugurated Portland Photo Month (every April)—Blue Sky is expanding the geographic scope of the Drawers to include up to 80 photographers from Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, British Columbia, and Alaska.

Sunday, July 3, 2011

I been contemplating the world's dilemma a lot, and how to be helpful amongst so much change and collapse. As an artist, as a writer, as a teacher, as a career coach - how do I express what I feel and lead others to make choices that matter, and cope with a positive upbeat "YES" type of feeling. Ahhh......

So much of how we do things, think about things is changing. Old ideas, old institutions, all tumbling and mixing into new palettes. New ways to make a living have to be born, because the old ways are going the way of the dinosaurs. I don't have answers. None of us have lived through times like this before (that we can remember at least). I do have a process that i think is helpful, and that is something to dig deeper into. Probably why I'm writing my book.

We have to be so very quick and nimble in this climate to adjust to the changing currents, and yet remain serene. Voluntary simplicity has to be accepted. Resilience has to be the mode of autopilot. Nothing good comes from panic, all good comes from reflection. And calm. Calm in the storm.

Whether we work in our studios and sell directly to collectors, or in a bank or in real estate, or for a museum or non-profit we believe in, or set up shop on Etsy or create a project on indiegogo for funding it seems to me it all comes down to 2 main energies to align with, from deep within ourselves. Recognizing that these energies are manifested in the world through us, and appear in our biography - in our day to day lives. The all important alignment with the script where we feel we are being supported from the "universe". This is the high road. When we don't feel supported chances are we want to call it the low road, but its part of the script none-the-less.

So how do we gain insight and momentum to work with the script? As Jupiter and Uranus impact my 10th house, I would say through meditating and embodying possibility (Jupiter) and originality (Uranus).

Dave and I talk a lot about the script, and from an evolutionary astrological perspective, what is the role of choice within the script. As with all processes of development and unfoldment, there are gifts and challenges to our individual paths.

I find myself wondering about the gifts and challenges as they pertain to career awareness many of us are trying to make sense of and evolve with. Myself included. The heart of my meditation and visualization work with clients can be distilled into these 2 main points:

My mentor, the wise evolutionary astrologer Steve Forrest writes about Jupiter and Uranus in these ways: Jupiter's gift: The ability to envision and to seize upon new possibilites and potentials for the future. The challenge: Can you recognize something better than you have ever known, utterly new and positive, that now lies within your grasp - within your reach. Can you create the energy to take it?

I love that!! I'm all about envisioning. But can you muster the energy to recognize the metaphors you envision and sense within yourself out in the world? Can you let go of your preconceived definitions of what it SHOULD be , or LOOK like? That is quite a challenge.

Letting go. Letting life be the gift in whatever ways is presented,because it is right just the way it is. Can you evolve enough to recognize what you have not been looking for, but is right before your eyes? Can I not be my own worst enemy, for just a moment and say ah, isn't that interesting?

And then there is Uranus. Steve tells us that Uranus' gift is the ability to distinguish our true individuality from the desires and fantasies about us that are held by our family, friends and associates. The challenge: can you stand up to the pressures of conformity asserting your right to be yourself in the face of censure, or rejection and in the face of whatever social conventions you may have unwittingly internalized?

How astounding is that? Can you be yourself in the world, and take back the power to judge you , you have given others? Can you find a practical doable solution to being in the world, earning a living in the world regardless of others judgements? Can you express yourself and define success your way?

That is the heart of what I want to teach - jupiter and uranus in career planning. I'm up to chapter 6 in my "create your career with tools for empowerment" (or whatever the publisher will ulitmately title it). Perhaps instead of visualizing goals I'll encourage visualizing gifts and challenges to manifest goals. What do you think?

Monday, May 16, 2011

Am working on my book "create your art career: tools for success", chapter 3. This chapter deals with how we identify as successful artists. Loaded stuff I know.
I really don't think that success = money. Or that it equals fame. It equals, both, or none, or something totally different. It equals meaning. It equals "why" it's important to create in the first place.

I find as I get older, I get more cantankerous in a way. How cliche! But I guess there is a reason for old crones wearing purple shoes and not giving a hoot what people think. I wear a purple headband, if that counts. I am that - in a way. I care so much about the individual artist. I could care less about the art world in which we function.

I really do think that success is your ability to fulfill your goals, whatever they may be. Your success does not have to be at the expense of others, or of your health, or of your state of mind. I am curious how you define and measure success. Success for our purposes is a personal, reachable, and measureable creative career path that is as individual as the human heart. What makes up that career path, you will decide.

How do you feel when you say to yourself “ I am a successful artist”? What do you think of? Do you laugh, feel confident, feel uncomfortable or weird? Does an immediate image come to mind?

There are many routes to take to be a successful artist and many definitions of what a successful artist is and does. Earning a living from your art career is one definition of success to reach for. You need to define what financial success means to you and then create a plan to get there. Do not confuse success with an art star, or the Hollywood myth of a grand and over the top famous career as a result of driving ambition devoid of reality. There are a lot of financially successful creatives out there that you have never heard of.

As well as artistically successful creatives who have day jobs, un-art related.
There is no one success formula, no one way to live your artistic career or earn a living from your creativity. Perhaps your definition includes financial success and perhaps it does not. You see, your career can be defined your way. This is key.
Success is at its root, in both life and career the continued expansion of fulfillment, happiness, plus the steady progressive reaching of goals that mean something to you.

This is attainable for every artist. If you don’t give up and stay the course. You can make your career what you want. Success is as individual as the quality of your line on the canvas or composition of shapes on the page.

Here is a visualization to try around success:

Now Imagine: See an image of yourself in a serene and beautiful place. It is quiet, and sunny, just lovely. Imagine there is a perfect breeze blowing. You feel relaxed here, this is a place you find very beautiful. Allow yourself to almost smile as you picture this place in your mind. While still picturing your beautiful place, begin to be aware of your breathing. Inhale…Exhale… And feel yourself relaxing more deeply.

Now Imagine: You are part of this beauty. Allow your mind to think about how right it is that there is so much beauty and peace in your world and that you fit into this picture you have created in your mind. You are a creative successful artist. How do you feel? What does your life look like, when you are a successful creative artist?

Now Imagine: You see your entire creative career before your eyes. Your every skill and every ability comes to mind, you see yourself making the perfect work, for the perfect audience, before your very eyes. There is so much more to you than you ever realized. You are a successful artist. How do you feel? What does your career look like?

Now Imagine: You have many different and very useful skills that make your career special. What is special about your career? What are all of your specialties that make your career successful? Your work is unique. What makes your work unique? You have physical skills, intellectual skills, and artistic skills, people skills. You are a successful artist. How do you feel? What does your career look like?

Now Imagine All of your skills are appreciated by your clients, your audience, your family, your peers. What does your career look like with appreciation and understanding? How might you describe yourself ? You are enthusiastic and hard working - what does your career look like? You are a successful artist. What is the image that comes to mind? How do you see yourself?

Now Imagine: See yourself appreciated with the right clients, the right audience, and the right environment. See all of your people skills coming together as you market, network, perform, shoot, paint, design. What does your career look like? What does your success look like? How does it feel?

Now Imagine: You are productive, enthusiastic, and creative. See this image as clearly as you can. See yourself. Where are you? What does it look like? Who are you working with? How did your clients, bosses, dealers, agents, how did they find or discover you? You are a successful artist.

Now Imagine" See yourself maintaining connections, building relationships, and using all of your skills. You are known for your expertise, you are respected for your knowledge and skills, see yourself productive and happy. You are a successful artist. What are you remembered for?

Now Imagine: See yourself using your skills performing your specialties enjoying great success and happiness in the process. Like flowers in bloom, see each one of your particular skills as gorgeous colors, flowers, gifts to yourself and the community. See yourself using your best skills in your work, on the job, with your collectors, dealers, and audience, on the set, in the gallery, in the world.

Now Imagine: Success is enhancing your understanding of your skills. Success is the nature of your authentic voice produced into a business setting. Success is anything that matters to you. What does success mean to you? Now broaden your definition of success, who you are, what else are you doing, who else is there with you?

Now Imagine: Success is being yourself, being in business, being in your creative flow. No one else is qualified to be you. Glorious you. The most important resource is you. Your understanding of your success is the foundation of your career and life story. Allow yourself to gain insight on how you define success and why it is important to you.

Now Imagine: Success is knowing yourself , knowing what you want from your career, and where you are headed. Allow yourself to see yourself as a successful artist. Do you feel gratified? Enthusiastic? Afraid? Allow yourself to stand out in the crowd - your talent and skills shining brightly. Your career is a beacon of success. On your terms. See this image as clearly as you can.
And when you are ready, you can open your eyes.

Beloved Friends, we are in the spiritual high point of the year. This is a holy week, a sacred time: Passover commemorates the Jews’ escape from bondage; Easter celebrates the resurrection of Christ and the opportunity to become new in body, heart, and soul. Resurrection:the act of rising from the dead; bringing something back to life.Rebirth:a new or second birth, a spiritual regeneration. These rituals are rooted in ancient custom and whether we worship in a temple, church, or in nature it all comes down to this: no matter what challenges we are facing, no matter how dark it becomes, at any moment we can rise up and begin again. What in your life needs to die so that you may be reborn? What needs to be freed from bondage? What needs to be renewed or reclaimed?

The Three Most Important Full Moons Take Place in Spring

During spring the creative energy pours forth from the chalis of the Moon and a doorway opens bringing fresh awareness. Once again we have the ability to move to a new level of consciousness; once again we have an opportunity to reaffirm our soul’s journey.The Easter Full Moon (April 17-18) is called the Resurrection Festival or the Festival of Shamballa.The creative energy reaches its highest potential and it is the beginning of a new cycle of creation.

The Buddha Full Moon or Wesak Moon (May 17) is called the Buddha-Wesak Festival.It is said that Buddha was born, died and received enlightenment on the Full Moon in Scorpio and many consider this the highest spiritual day of the year. Each year this great being returns at this time to help humanity toward enlightenment.“The greatest event upon our planet, from the standpoint of spiritual verities, is the Wesak Festival. It has been there always, but unknown to the majority. Now its influence is to be recognized and consciously utilized.” Alice Bailey (Esoteric Psychology)

The Sagittarius Full Moon (on June 15) is called the Christ-Goodwill Festival or the Festival of Humanity, the World Day of Invocationandprovides an opportunity to unite the human family. The divine energy received at the Wesak Festival is released and anchored within the human consciousness. This year the Full Moonis a total Lunar Eclipse at 24 degrees of Gemini/Sagittarius, close to the center of the galaxy.

“Nothing happens until something moves.” -Einstein

We are in a time of enormous transformation for everything is shifting, both in the heavens and on earth. The outer planets; the ones that are so far away they weren’t even discovered until we had telescopes; the ones that move slowly and change signs rarely, have all recently entered new signs. Pluto, god of the underworld and planet of death and rebirth, entered Capricorn in 2008. Although that was three years ago it’s still only at the beginning of Capricorn. Chiron, associated with wisdom and compassion, reentered Pisces on February 8. Although not technically an outer planet, Chiron’s presence in Pisces is significant. On March 11, that rebel Uranus, the Great Awakener, entered fiery Aries,the sign of war, action, and passion – and the earth moved,literally.Then, on April 4, mysterious Neptune entered dreamy Pisces

“Utram bibis? Aquam an undam? Which are you drinking?

The water or the wave? –John Fowls (The Magus)

Neptuneis the planet of the invisible and the unseen; it is associated with all those things we cannot see with the naked eye; inspiration, imagination, music, spirituality, sacrifice, and escapism. It rules watery Pisces so it’s strong in its own sign. The last time Neptune was in Pisces was from 1846-1862. Neptune will remain in Pisces until 2023; over the next 15 years we will see its best and its worst of this illusive planet. Neptune has the potential to bring about a spiritual awakening and inspire more compassion for the earth and each other. Practices such as meditation, yoga, and energy medicine will become even more main stream; perhaps music will be softer, fashion more fluid. Neptune is associated with addiction and we may also see the negative effects of prescription drugs. At the same time new drugs will appear on the market as many people turn to self-medicating as a way of dealing with their problems. Water will continue to become the new oil as issues around water and pollution increase. On a personal level Neptune (and Chiron) asks us to open our hearts and intuition. Look at the area of your chart where you have Neptune transiting; something new is emerging there; water it with compassion, forgiveness, and care.

The outer planets (Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto) are raw, primitive and powerful; they don’t have the social graces of the inners ones like Mercury, Venus, and Mars. These great titans of mythology, these “gods of change” are asking us to wake up and we need to cooperate. The word disaster means to go against the stars. Dis = against, aster = stars.A real disaster this year would be to try and prevent change.Keep in mind that action alone does not create lasting change. With Neptune (and Chiron) in Pisces, our actions need be grounded in consciousness and for the highest good of all concerned.

Change Your Story; Transform Your Life

One way to create change is to change our story. Is there a story you keep repeating to yourself and others?“There aren’t any good men (women, jobs, opportunities, affordable houses).” “I’m too old (too broke, too tired, too fat) to meet someone, get my play produced, or change careers.”You get the drift. Are there people in your life who encourage your story? Do you look for evidence to support it? These stories aren’t necessarily real but we’re deeply attached to them and they keep us tied to the past. Is there some truth in them? Sure, but they’re not written in stone.“The world is more malleable than you think. It is not all set in concrete and where it is, at least stick your fingers in it before it dries.”-Bono (U2)

What message are you sending? Do you talk about what you like or don't like; do you focus on what works or doesn’t work? Thoughts are magnetic, words have power; the emotions connected to those words have even more power; they can inspire or defeat. Does your story reflect your highest self or your worst fear? Would you be willing to change it? What (or who) would you have to give up?Whatever you think about, you speak about and whatever you speak about you bring about.

Don’t believe me. Become a detective. Become conscious of what you say; notice how itfeels.Listen to other people's dramas; pay attention to how that feels. Try telling a different story; one that is aligned with your future and not your past. Notice what happens when you do; you may get a different result, a new perspective, or attract new experiences. Experiment, explore, play; it doesn’t cost anything, it does no harm, and as Buckminister Fuller said,“You can’t learn less!

“Never be afraid to change what you believe in order to become who you are.”

-Sister Karol Jackowski

Check out Sister Karol’s inspiring weekly blog on Martha Stewart Whole Living: The above quote is from a recent blog entitled:3 Ways To Be Picky About What You Think (And You Should Be)

Beloved Friends, There is so much going on in the world right now; earthquakes, nuclear explosions, floods, wars, not to mention the economy – and we witness it constantly on TV and the internet. It’s only normal to feel a bit shell shocked. If you’re feeling down or depressed, there’s probably nothing wrong with you; we’re all suffering from a collective Post Traumatic Syndrome. Be gentle with yourself and others. Meditate, spend time in nature, eat well, and rest. Connect with people you love and do the things that bring you joy.

“Expect to have hope rekindled. Expect your prayers to be answered in wondrous ways. The dry seasons in life do not last. The spring rains will come again.” –Sarah Ban Breathnach

It is late now in our little tower room high above the Astrology Cafe. I am deeply grateful for your presence tonight. The candles have all burned down. The room is quiet and still. Outside the old owl has appeared on the branch of the Alder tree. A soft breeze drifts in from through the open window. Celebrate this miraculous season; take joy in each fern and flower, welcome the Sun as well as the rain. Above all, love yourself, feel good; be glad,no matter what is going on in your life or in the world.You are loved, all is well, Virginia

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My Favorite Quote of the Moment

".. Remove this layer of moral superiority within the ivory towers of the art, gallery, academic, photographic and agency world free from the scrutiny of the public and the audience might start listening…."